Homemade Strawberry Sauce | Topping

Know What You Eat: I always refuse to give store bought Maple syrup (that sweet little lady bottle) when it comes to top pancakes, ice creams, pies..WHY??? Have you ever read the ingredients list..if not here it is..  ...INGREDIENTS: CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID (PRESERVATIVES), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE. This already sounds like a DANGER to me  Yeah, my thoughts exactly.  So in an effort to not use these easily available fancy sauce/syrups stash .I have decided to stretch a small amount to produce a delightful and healthier syrup for my kids.  I call this a strawberry sauce, because it is not thin and runny like a syrup.  It has a chunkier more organic texture.Many of us do not realize how easy it is to make strawberry sauce at home with minimal, almost available ingredients in our pantry..Of Course you need strawberries...Use fresh when in season, and frozen also tastes equally good..

Recipe: Homemade Strawberry Sauce     (C= Cups, Tbsp= tablespoon, tsp= teaspoon) Prep time: 10 mins  Cook time :  15 mins Ingredients      8 C Strawberries, hulled 1 C Raw Sugar (adjust the quantity depending on sweetness of berries) 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional) 1 C Water A pinch of Salt Method: Combine all the ingredients except vanilla extract (optional) in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir gently until sugar dissolves and berries gets soft, about 15 mins. Remove from heat, allow to cool down completely and add vanilla extract. Mix it well and bottle it for later use. Where Can You Use Strawberry Sauce: Make a great drizzle for fresh fruit salad Topping for waffles Spoon on top of Cereal Use to make healthy strawberry milkshake Ice cream topping Cheesecake topping Makes a great dip for your favorite fruits as well.

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Paneer Corn Methi Masala

Know What You Eat: While it might sound surprising to some people who are used to thinking about corn as a plain, staple food, or a snack food, or a summertime party food, corn is actually a unique phytonutrient-rich food that provides us with well-documented antioxidant and digestive present in the fiber. This recipe isnt new, as everyone has their own way of cooking when it comes to paneer or corn, but it indeed is different for its combo with "Methi" fenugreek leaves, yes addition of methi brings out its exotic flavor and aroma. Methi is a very good source of iron. That is why fenugreek, both its seeds and leaves are considered medicinal for curing anemia. Try this one, I am sure you will like it.

Ingredients

• 2 C Sweet Corn.(Fresh / Frozen)
• 1 C Paneer.(cubed)
• 1 Bunch Methi Leaves, washed and chopped
• 3 Tsp Garam Masala
• 4 Tomatoes, finely chopped / 1- 8oz tomato puree
• 1/2 C Yogurt
• 4 Tbsp Fresh cream(tinned)
• Few Coriander leaves, chopped
• 3  Dry red chillies
• 3 Tsps green chilly paste
• 2 Tsps cumin seeds
• 2 Tbsps butter / Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp ginger,garlic paste
• Salt & or sugar to taste

Directions

1. Grind green chilli, ginger, garlic if using whole. 
2. Grind tomatoes if using fresh..
3. Heat Olive oil, add cumin and red chillies,when they splutter,add ginger-garlic& chilli paste, chopped methi leaves. Cook for 5 mins and reduce the heat, now add tomato puree, salt and garam masala.
4. Braise the paste on  medium heat for 10 mins.
5. Now add yogurt and mix it well.
6. Add paneer, and corn cook until thick.
7. Add fresh cream.
8. Cook for another 5 mins
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and sliced onions
10. Serve with hot Rotis or Rice

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Quinoa Payasam | Vegan | High Protein

Know What You Eat: Looking for Healthy Nutritious Vegan version of Payasam/Kheer. Check this out. It has twice the protein of regular cereal grains, contains less carbohydrates, more healthy fats, fiber, phosphorus, calcium and is high in iron. A complete Gluten Free Vegetarian Grain. Lets discuss about the recipe, I saw this first at Shanavi's blog Kitchen Secrets and wanted to try ever since, though some changes were made like I used cracked wheat instead of Sabudana (Tapioca) added almonds and coconut milk according to our diet and it just turned out very well.

Quinoa Payasam Recipe : Adapted With Changes From Kitchen Secrets Ingredients  1/4 C Quinoa  1/3 C Split Chickpea (Channa dal) 1/4 C Cracked/Broken Wheat 1 to 1 1/2 C Jaggery  (acc to taste) 2 C Light Coconut Milk (Almond milk is good too) Cardamom powder A  pinch Nutmeg Powder  A pinch For garnish   1tsp Ghee 1 tbsp Cashews, broken 2 Tbsp Almonds,coarsely powdered 2 Tbsp  Chironji seeds (Botanical name = Buchanania latifolia Roxb) 1 Tbs Raisins   Method  Wash Quinoa as per the instructions  mentioned in the back of the cover. Soak Quinoa for 15 minutes separately. Soak the channa dal and cracked wheat for 15 minutes as well.  Pressure cook the channa dal along with cracked wheat for 2 whistles. ( U may do this as a stove top process as well . But that's very time consuming. ) Cook quinoa with enough water until they fall flat. Will definitely take 10 to 12 minutes to cook. Once its cooked, with no water left, transfer the cooked dal + cracked wheat mixture to the cooked quinoa . Combine well. Add in coconut milk,  jaggery, cardamom & nutmeg powder  and mix well. Cover the pan 3/4 th so that the jaggery melts and incorporates with the payasam. Bring the payasam to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes and switch off. Heat a frying pan with ghee and fry the nuts / raisins separately to a golden brown color. Add  nuts mixture to the payasam and serve warm..

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Rose & WaterMelon Quencher / Juice - Heat Reducer

Know What You Eat:  We make a lot of fresh fruit/vegetable juices/ shakes, apart from that today I will share one of the very authentic Sharbat or charbat is the name applied to a variety of sweet soft drinks flavored with fruit juice or floral extracts, popular in the Middle East/India/Pakistan.. After all, "Poets have sung its praise. Medical scientists laud its therapeutic values. And the common man loves its refreshing goodness."The viscous concentrate smells like a typical rose perfume while in the bottle  With water or seltzer, a rose flavor dominates and it is sickeningly sweet. For an American palate, it's very intense. But its amazingly flavorful when mixed with cold milk/ watermelon quencher what I made here..Apart from the sweet smell it is also very beneficial to protect and treat Dehydration (water loss) Nutritional status of the body, Heat Exhaustion Proper functioning of the heart Heat stroke, to treat fever due to fresh heat exposure, Active Vomiting Energetic, Diarrhea, and Stomach ache..Still not guessd...? Its Rooh-Afza..

This year I got this opportunity, to pluck a lots and lots of fresh and sweet smelling roses, where..? Of course in my back yard, since now the plant is bearing lot of roses, I thought not to waste a single one and immediately asked my mom the recipe for this concentrate I made from rose. I plucked a bunch of these, removed the petals, washed it and boiled these petals along with water.

Ingredients:

Rose petals (i had beautiful red and pink colored) from about 10-15 roses

4 C Water

2 C Sugar

2-3 drops Rose Essence

Few pinches Red Food color (optional)

Directions:

Add 1 cup water along with rose petals, cover it with lid and boil it for about 3-5 mins, take off from the stove, an d let it cool.

2.. Strain it and use this water to make sugar syrup.

3. In another vessel take sugar and water and boil it until sugar dissolves, let it cool, then add rose essence and red food color. 

4. Store it in an air tight bottle to use whenever desired. Also keep it in refrigerator.

For watermelon quencher, I diced watermelon , added rose sugar syrup "Rooh-afza" in ice cold water and served with some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. It is heavenly when consumed in hot sunny weather to avoid dehydration.

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